Lizzy Miles

Lizzy Miles has been to more funerals than weddings in her life. She stopped counting her losses and started counting her “angels” when she reached double digits. Inspired by her comforting and positive experiences with hospice staff, Lizzy decided to pay it forward and become a hospice volunteer. She found that work so rewarding that she determined that her life's purpose was to work in hospice. She made a mid-life career change and quit her marketing job of twelve years to return to school to become a hospice social worker. While she was an intern for hospice, she organized an event where she helped a 91-year old hospice patient ski again. She has a Master's degree in Communication and one in Social Work. She is currently a hospice social worker and the networking chair for ADEC, the Association for Death Education and Counseling.

Articles:

Does Jesus Like Chocolate?

She was staring at the glass of chocolate Ensure. “Annie” didn’t like chocolate but was so devout in her Catholicism that she did not want to offend Jesus. She looked up at me and asked, “Does Jesus like chocolate?” It was such a funny question and I stifled a laugh, because I knew she was completely serious in her inquiry. Fortunately, I knew the real question behind the question. Will Jesus be mad at me if I don’t like chocolate? I smiled and said, “Jesus loves chocolate, but he forgives you if you don’t like it.” She stared at the […]

Negotiating with God, Dreaming of Chocolate Cake

The first time I met “Gary,” we ended up talking for over two hours. He was in his late 60s and had throat cancer, evidenced by a protruding plum-sized tumor on his neck which he covered with turtlenecks. He explained his spiritual beliefs and told me he wasn’t afraid to die. In fact, when he found himself saying “die,” he would correct himself to say “transition.” He told me he intended to come back after he died and guide me. I had so much to learn from him and he had so much to teach. However, as Gary’s health declined, […]

Great Aunt Waits for God

My Great Aunt Alice was a pretty healthy 87 years old. She was spunky. I really thought I’d be submitting her picture to the Today show for the Smuckers jar profile when she turned 100. Then one a rainy day in April, I received the dreaded phone call. Aunt Alice had a sudden brain aneurysm and went into a coma. When I went to visit her, she wasn’t well. Her breathing was labored, and the family knew it was close to the end. Her brother, sister and a couple of my cousins were there. We were her closest relatives as […]

Mother’s Necklace is More Than Just Jewelry

I wore the necklace with the tiny multicolored beads every day. Its primary color was black but there were also blues, greens, reds and white. I liked the necklace because it was unique and because it matched my wardrobe. It was my favorite. I was on vacation and in a hotel room in Las Vegas when the unthinkable happened. I was pulling the necklace over my head and it got caught in my ponytail. I tugged and it broke. The tiny little beads scattered everywhere: on the counter, on the floor and down the sink into the drain. I must […]

At the Bedside: Perhaps the Hokey Pokey IS What it’s All About

It was a Friday night when I received a call from my Uncle Paul who told me that my Aunt Jerry, who had end-stage Alzheimer’s disease, had suffered two seizures and a heart attack and was in the hospital. With her condition, one might have expected that she might have died the next day. She didn’t. She lived through the weekend and was discharged on Sunday on hospice back to Kemper House, the Alzheimer’s facility. Early that week, I was in another room at Kemper House on the phone when I got an urgent call from a cousin. I think […]

Animal-Human Connection Lives on After Death

I am a cat-lover, I will admit it. Growing up, I had cats here and there, but my dad was really intolerant of the normal pet things like fleas and “accidents” on the carpets, so I never had a cat for very long. I had one kitten for four days; then he discovered it had fleas, and took it to the vet, and I never saw it again. When I moved to my own place at 20, right away I knew I wanted to get a kitten. One day, my friend Laura called and told me there were kittens at […]

Best Years With Mom Came Later

By Elizabeth Miles — At 17, when I was told by my Uncle Paul that I was “just like my mother,” I cringed. Why would I want to be like her? At that time my mother was down on herself. She would spend days without leaving the house or even the couch. She wanted to have a job or be involved in clubs or charities but she didn’t know how, and she would always procrastinate getting started. Why would I want to be like that? But my uncle wasn’t talking about that side of her. He hadn’t seen her in […]

Can We Enjoy Pavarotti at the Deathbed?

By Elizabeth Miles — On a Friday in January of 2003, I get a phone call from my step mom. My aunt, my dad’s sister Shirley, has a pneumonia, it’s bad, she’s in hospice and could die any day now. I feel guilty for not visiting her over the past few years. She was living in a nursing home in Dayton since she had a stroke three or four years ago. My dad wants to drive together to see my Aunt Shirley. I tell him that I don’t want to because I don’t want to stay all day. Alone in […]

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